The 2014 Pirelli World Challenge season was the 25th season of the Pirelli World Challenge championship. It marked the debut of a new "Touring Car A-Spec" class. A new "GT A-Spec" class also made its debut. These new classes featured amateur drivers. The series also held a round at Brainerd International Raceway for the first time in its history, with a touring car doubleheader held in support of a Trans Am Series event; also making its series debut was Barber Motorsports Park. The GT groups competed in sixteen fifty-minute sprints on nine circuits. The touring cars competed in fourteen sprints on seven road courses. The first race for GT cars at St. Petersburg was canceled due to heavy rain, so a make-up race was added for the series finale at Miller Motorsports Park. The second race for touring cars at Barber was also canceled due to rain, so a make-up race was added to the schedule at Mosport.
In the GT championship, three wins at the first four meetings – at Long Beach and a double at Belle Isle – along with consistent finishing thereafter was enough to give Johnny O'Connell a third consecutive series title at the wheel of his Cadillac CTS-V. O'Connell finished 156 points clear of his closest championship rival, Mike Skeen, who also won three races during the season; he achieved a double victory at Road America along with a win at Sonoma Raceway, driving an Audi R8 LMS ultra. The championship top three was completed by Anthony Lazzaro at the wheel of a Ferrari 458 GT3. Lazzaro finished 30 points behind Skeen, taking victories at Barber Motorsports Park and the second race at Sonoma Raceway. Seven other drivers won race in the class in 2014; the only driver to win more than one race was Ryan Dalziel, who took a double win at Mid-Ohio. Single race victories were taken by Andrew Palmer (Barber Motorsports Park) and Tomáš Enge (St. Petersburg), while the Toronto races were won by Kuno Wittmer and Nick Tandy, and the Miller Motorsports Park races were won by Robert Thorne and Guy Smith. The GTA class held within the GT championship was won by Michael Mills, who finished in eighth place in the overall GT standings. Cadillac won the Manufacturers' Championship by five points ahead of Audi.
In the GTS class, four-time race winner Lawson Aschenbach took his second straight series title, finishing 50 points clear of his closest competitor, Jack Baldwin, who won three races. Both drivers took advantage of Mark Wilkins suffering a pointless final weekend at Miller Motorsports Park, which dropped him 108 points behind Aschenbach in the final standings. Wilkins had finished each of the previous races in the top ten, including victories at Barber Motorsports Park and Toronto. Dean Martin took a double victory at Belle Isle and added a third victory in Toronto en route to fourth in the championship. Niclas Jönsson also achieved a double victory – at Road America – having previously won at Long Beach, but no points in the final four races of the season dropped him to seventh in the final championship standings. The season's only other winner was Nick Esayian, who won the first race at Miller Motorsports Park. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Kia claimed the title by six points ahead of Ford.
In TC, only Michael DiMeo was able to win more than two races during the season, but his eight victories allowed him to win the class title by nearly 500 points over Karl Thomson, who was a race winner at Brainerd. Third place, a further 82 points in arrears, was Adam Poland, who won races at Road America and Miller Motorsports Park. Steven Doherty won the other races at Road America and Miller Motorsports Park en route to fourth in the championship, while the other Brainerd race winner was Fred Emich, who finished fifth in the championship. Honda comfortably won the Manufacturers' Championship. TCA class honors were taken by Jason Wolfe, who won five races on his way to the championship. Wolfe finished 207 points clear of another five-time winner, Shea Holbrook, while a further 24 points behind in third place was Ernie Francis, Jr., who won a trio of races, including a double at Brainerd. Aside from his GTS foray, Jönsson achieved a victory at Miller Motorsports Park. Kia won the Manufacturers' Championship on a tie-break with Honda, by six wins to five.
TCB championship honors went to Brian Price, at the wheel of a Honda Fit. Price won four races at the first three meetings – Barber Motorsports Park, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and New Jersey Motorsports Park – and added a fifth win at the final meeting at Miller Motorsports Park. Price won the title by 125 points ahead of Nathan Stacy, who was the other winner at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Third place went to Tyler Palmer, 58 points behind Stacy, taking victories at New Jersey Motorsports Park and Mid-Ohio. The season's other multiple winner was Johan Schwartz, who won three of the final four races at Brainerd and Miller Motorsports Park. The season's other winners were Glenn Nixon at Road America, and Chase Pelletier at Mid-Ohio. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Honda finished 25 points clear of the next best manufacturer, Mini.
Schedule
Round Date Circuit Location Classes Weekend 1 March 28–30 Streets of St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, Florida GT, GTS, GTA IndyCar Series 2 April 11–13 Streets of Long Beach Long Beach, California GT, GTS, GTA IndyCar Series /United SportsCar Championship 3 April 25–27 Barber Motorsports Park Birmingham, Alabama GT, GTS, GTA (x2);TC, TCA, TCB IndyCar Series 4 May 16–18 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Bowmanville, Ontario TC, TCA, TCB (x3) NASCAR Canadian Tire Series /Trans Am Series 5 May 30 – June 1 The Raceway on Belle Isle Detroit, Michigan GT, GTS, GTA (x2) IndyCar Series /United SportsCar Championship 6 New Jersey Motorsports Park Millville, New Jersey TC, TCA, TCB (x2) Trans Am Series 7 June 19–21 Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin GT, GTS, GTA (x2);TC, TCA, TCB (x2) NASCAR Nationwide Series 8 July 18–20 Streets of Toronto Toronto, Ontario GT, GTS, GTA (x2) IndyCar Series 9 August 1–3 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio GT, GTS, GTA (x2);TC, TCA, TCB (x2) IndyCar Series 10 August 22–24 Sonoma Raceway Sonoma, California GT, GTS, GTA (x2) IndyCar Series 11 August 30–31 Brainerd International Raceway Brainerd, Minnesota TC, TCA, TCB (x2) Trans Am Series 12 September 12–13 Miller Motorsports Park Tooele, Utah GT, GTS, GTA (x2);TC, TCA, TCB (x2) NASCAR K&N Pro Series West
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News
On January 7, 2014, it was announced that Pirelli, WC Vision had agreed to a five-year extension to their Title and Official Tire Partnership for the World Challenge Championships.http://www.world-challenge.com/news/series-news/item/2318-pirelli-wc-vision-announce-five-year-extension-to-title-and-official-tire-partnership-for-the-world-challenge-championships.html6
On January 6, 2014, it was announced that the TV broadcast partnership with NBC Sports Network had been renewed for 2014.
On December 24, 2013, it was announced that the Reiter Engineering Lamborghini Gallardo FL2 GT3 would be homologated for competition.
On October 28, 2013, it was announced that the Porsche 911 GT3 R would be homologated for competition.
The March 29 race was canceled due to heavy rain. Only qualifying points were awarded.
Entries
GT
Constructor Team Car Driver Rounds Aston Martin TRG-AMR Vantage GT3 15 Tomy Drissi 2 Audi CRP Racing R8 Ultra 2 Mike Skeen 2–3, 5, 7 Global Motorsports Group 14 James Sofronas 1–3, 5, 7 21 Andrew Palmer 1–3, 5, 7 32 Bret Curtis 1–3, 5 44 Brent Holden 2, 5 95 Bill Ziegler 1–3, 5, 7 JCR Motorsports 99 Jeff Coutney 1–3, 7 Bentley Dyson Racing Team Bentley Continental GT3 08 Butch Leitzinger 7 88 Guy Smith TBC BMW Turner Motorsport Z4 GT3 94 Dane Cameron 1 Cadillac Cadillac Racing CTS-V.R 3 Johnny O'Connell 1–3, 5, 7 8 Andy Pilgrim 1–3, 5, 7 Dodge Lone Star Racing Viper GT3-R 80 Dan Knox 1–3, 5, 7 Ferrari DragonSpeed 458 GT3 10 Henrik Hedman 1–3, 5, 7 64 Mike Hedlund 1–3 R. Ferri Motorsports 16 Nick Mancuso 1–3, 5, 7 61 Anthony Lazzaro 1–3, 5, 7 Lamborghini Reiter Engineering Gallardo FL2 0 Marcelo Hahn 1, 3, 5, 7 24 Albert von Thurn und Taxis 1 25 Tomáš Enge 1, 7 McLaren K-Pax Racing 12C GT3 6 Robert Thorne 1–3, 5, 7 9 Alex Figge 1–3, 5, 7 Mercedes-Benz Black Swan Racing SLS AMG GT3 54 Tim Pappas 1–3, 5, 7 Nissan CRP Racing GTR 2 Mike Skeen 1 Porsche Taggart Autosport 911 GT3 R 7 Jim Taggart 1 EFFORT Racing 31 Tim Bergmeister 1–3, 5, 7 41 Michael Mills 1–3, 5, 7
TC
Constructor Team Car Driver Rounds Honda M&S Racing Civic Si 63 Tom Kwok 4 88 Gary Kwok 4 Cawley Motorsports 68 Jon Miller 3–4, 7 Compass360 Racing 71 Michael DiMeo 3–4, 6–7 72 Karl Thompson 3–4, 6–7 Hyundai GenRacer Genesis Coupe 77 Jeff Ricca 6 Mazda Eastex Motorsports MX-5 11 Adam Poland 3–4, 7 Grid-1 Motorsports 28 Jason Saini 3–4 Hale Motorsports 83 Randy Hale 6 84 Stan Wilson 6 Tech Sport Racing RX-8 23 Kevin Anderson 6 Dan Martinson 7 Nissan Skullcandy Team Nissan Altima Coupe 93 Bryan Heitkotter 7 94 Steven Doherty 7 Volkswagen RS Werks GTI 03 Colin Cohen 3 Emich Racing Jetta GLI 19 Emilee Tominovich 6 30 Fred Emich 7
TCA
Constructor Team Car Driver Rounds Honda NDP Motorsport Civic Si 5 Daniel Fernández 3 Neal de Paz 6 Shea Racing 67 Shea Holbrook 3–4, 6–7 Kia Kinetic Motorsports Forte Koup 36 Jason Wolfe 3–4, 6–7 38 Russell Smith 3–4, 6 Mazda Breathless Performance MX-5 13 Jason Cherry 3–4, 6–7 98 Michael Camus 3 Ernie Francis, Jr. 4, 6–7 Grid-1 Motorsports RX-8 97 Justin Hayes 3 Robby Foley 4
Race results Rnd Circuit GT Winning Car GTS Winning Car TC Winning Car TCB Winning Car GT Winning Driver GTS Winning Driver TC Winning Driver TCB Winning Driver 1 St. Petersburg #25 Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 #1 Chevrolet Camaro Did not participate Tomáš Enge Lawson Aschenbach 2 Long Beach #3 Cadillac CTS-V #36 Kia Optima Did not participate Johnny O'Connell Niclas Jönsson 3 Barber #61 Ferrari 458 GT3 #38 Kia Optima #71 Honda Civic Si #51 Honda Fit Anthony Lazzaro Mark Wilkins Michael DiMeo Brian Price #21 Audi R8 LMS ultra #73 Porsche Cayman S Race cancelled Andrew Palmer Jack Baldwin 4 Mosport Did not participate #71 Honda Civic Si #51 Honda Fit Michael DiMeo Brian Price #71 Honda Civic Si #51 Honda Fit Michael DiMeo Brian Price #71 Honda Civic Si #14 Ford Fiesta Michael DiMeo Nathan Stacy 5 Detroit #3 Cadillac CTS-V #50 Ford Mustang Boss 302S Did not participate Johnny O'Connell Dean Martin #3 Cadillac CTS-V #50 Ford Mustang Boss 302S Johnny O'Connell Dean Martin 6 New Jersey Did not participate #71 Honda Civic Si #51 Honda Fit Michael DiMeo Brian Price #71 Honda Civic Si #37 Mini Cooper Michael DiMeo Tyler Palmer 7 Road America #2 Audi R8 LMS ultra #36 Kia Optima #94 Nissan Altima Coupe #65 Honda Fit Mike Skeen Niclas Jönsson Steven Doherty Paul Holton #2 Audi R8 LMS ultra #36 Kia Optima #11 Mazda MX-5 #58 Mini Cooper Mike Skeen Niclas Jönsson Adam Poland Glenn Nixon 8 Toronto #31 Porsche 911 GT3 R #50 Ford Mustang Boss 302S Did not participate Nick Tandy Dean Martin #92 Dodge Viper SRT GT3-R #38 Kia Optima Kuno Wittmer Mark Wilkins 9 Mid-Ohio #31 Porsche 911 GT3 R #1 Chevrolet Camaro #71 Honda Civic Si #37 Mini Cooper Ryan Dalziel Lawson Aschenbach Michael DiMeo Tyler Palmer #31 Porsche 911 GT3 R #1 Chevrolet Camaro #71 Honda Civic Si #12 Honda Fit Ryan Dalziel Lawson Aschenbach Michael DiMeo Chase Pelletier 10 Sonoma #2 Audi R8 LMS ultra #73 Porsche Cayman S Did not participate Mike Skeen Jack Baldwin #61 Ferrari 458 GT3 #1 Chevrolet Camaro Anthony Lazzaro Lawson Aschenbach 11 Brainerd Did not participate #72 Honda Civic Si #12 Honda Fit Karl Thomson Johan Schwartz #30 Volkswagen Jetta GLI #12 Honda Fit Fred Emich Johan Schwartz 12 Utah #88 Bentley Continental GT3 #34 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 #11 Mazda MX-5 #51 Honda Fit Guy Smith Nick Esayian Adam Poland Brian Price #6 McLaren MP4-12C GT3 #73 Porsche Cayman S #94 Nissan Altima Coupe #12 Honda Fit Robert Thorne Jack Baldwin Steven Doherty Johan Schwartz